2005 SMU
5–6 (4–4 Conference USA), coached by Phil Bennett. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 22 TCU 21–10Sep 10
TCU was ranked No. 22, above it.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs Baylor | L 23–28 | 55% |
| Sep 10 | vs 22TCU | W 21–10 | 31% |
| Sep 17 | at Texas A&M | L 8–66 | 23% |
| Sep 24 | vs Tulane | L 10–31 | 49% |
| Oct 1 | at Marshall | L 13–16 | 25% |
| Oct 8 | at UAB | W 28–27 | 20% |
| Oct 15 | vs East Carolina | L 17–24 | 58% |
| Oct 22 | at Tulsa | L 13–20 | 20% |
| Nov 5 | vs Rice | W 27–7 | 63% |
| Nov 19 | at Houston | W 29–24 | 24% |
| Nov 26 | vs UTEP | W 40–27 | 33% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat UTEP 40–27; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Conference USA.
In program history: The 81st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).
- Record
- 5–6
- Conference
- 4–4 tied for 6th in Conference USA
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 229–280
- Coach
- Phil Bennett
- Elo
- 1411 +32 this season
- SP+ rating
- -13.0 No. 95 of 118; offense No. 102, defense No. 73
- SRS
- −6.7 No. 88 of 119 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- No. 63
- Offensive coordinator
- Rusty Burns
- Defensive coordinator
- Jim Gush
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.02 | 37% | 1.03 | 76th of 119 |
| Defense | 0.06 | 45% | 0.87 | 51st of 119 |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.0 | own 32 | 6% allowed |
| Defense | -0.1 | own 31 | 1% caused |
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.
Top recruits in the 2005 class
| Patrick Handy OG | ★★★ | No. 829 |
| Todd Alexander OLB | ★★ | No. 966 |
| Jeff Brock ATH | ★★ | No. 966 |
| Emerson Settle CB | ★★ | No. 966 |
| Eric Johnson DUAL | ★★ | No. 966 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2005 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 2.0 | 0.789 |
| Running backs | 1 | 2.0 | 0.744 |
| Receivers | 2 | 2.0 | 0.745 |
| Offensive line | 5 | 2.2 | 0.784 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 2.0 | 0.730 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 2.0 | 0.789 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 2.0 | 0.774 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 2.0 | 0.755 |
| Whole class | 18 | 2.1 | 0.764 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
2005 Conference USA standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 UCF | 7–1 | 8–5 | |
| Tulsa | 6–2 | 9–4 | |
| UTEP | 5–3 | 8–4 | |
 Memphis | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
 Southern Miss | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
| Houston | 4–4 | 6–6 | |
| East Carolina | 4–4 | 5–6 | |
 SMU | 4–4 | 5–6 | |
| UAB | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| Marshall | 3–5 | 4–7 | |
| Tulane | 1–7 | 2–9 | |
| Rice | 1–7 | 1–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.